Sunday Reflections

I really struggled this week with the gospel reading of this weekend.  I know I have preached on this gospel many times before, but part of the reason that I struggled was memories of speaking to people – in particular young people – who struggled with eating disorders, who cut themselves, and others struggling with alcohol and drug addiction.  Speaking with them it became obvious that they found this reading difficult to accept.  They may have tried to love God, but it was difficult because they thought they had been given a ‘raw’ deal; it was not easy to love their neighbour, especially those who had done them harm; and for sure, they did not love themselves.  The road to recovering from all of these realities – that can affect us at any age – is a long one, and requires a lot of healing.

The more I thought of it, the more I realized that at the heart of their struggle is love of self.  Sometimes, people may have been given a ‘raw’ deal.  Or at least they may perceive it that way.  They may not have had the nurturing and caring environment that we all long for.  Unfortunately, this determines a lot about the way we see ourselves.  In our better moments we can recognize that God has given us gifts and talents.  These give us a sense of accomplishment.  Through this realization there is a glimmer of hope that we will recognize that God loves us UNCONDITIONALLY, and that He took the initiative with us.  He loved us first!   Central to a healthy and positive self-image is accepting this truth, that God loves us and that he has created us for a purpose.  God doesn’t produce junk!  We are loved and gifted, we are blessed and valued.  We are each unique, and God wants us to develop that person we are by using well our gifts and talents, our intelligence and our time.

If we have love of self it is easier for us to love our neighbour.  If we fail to love ourselves, our love will have countless conditions.  People will have to ‘jump through hoops’ to please us, or to ‘prove’ their love for us.  But, if we believe that God loves us and that we have value, we can look at others as we see ourselves – loved, gifted, blessed and valued.  We will see in one another friends, not enemies; collaborators, not competitors.   This attitude towards others opens up all kinds of opportunities to share life with others.  As God has been generous with us, so too we are generous with others; as God has forgiven us, we can forgive others; as God is patient with us, we are patient with others. 

Finally, that love of self, and love of neighbour, are in themselves expressions of our love for God.  We express our gratitude to God by returning to Him the greatest gift He has given us – LOVE.  When we enter into a sincere and profound relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we are constantly expressing our love in our prayer, in our turning to his saving Word, in the Sacraments of grace that He has given us, and by sharing in the life of His community.  Having learned to love ourselves, and loved others, we come to the pinnacle in our love for God, and as Jesus asked, that it be a love “with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength.”  Love cannot be held back or measured out with God – it must be a complete giving, as we have received from the Father (in our creation), from the Son (by our salvation) and the Holy Spirit (by His presence with and in us).